Just tested new weapons and made concessions: What is North Korea calculating?

However, this move seems to be very contradictory to the North Korean leader's announcement of testing new technological weapons just a week ago, causing public opinion to ask: "What is North Korea calculating?"

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has just made a new concession to the international community. Photo: Reuters

Dizzying change

Continuously in less than a month, people have witnessed very different moves of the DPRK government. Just last week, a series of newspapers and news agencies such as the New York Times, Fox News, Washington Post, NBC News... all published commercial satellite images taken by the US showing that North Korea has continued to develop its ballistic missile program at secret facilities in recent times.

The images are part of a detailed study by the Beyond Parallel program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CISI) in the United States. According to the New York Times, satellite images show that North Korea has proposed to destroy a major missile launch site while improving its ability to launch nuclear-tipped missiles. In fact, US intelligence has long known about this network, but this information has been sidelined when President Donald Trump asserted that he had neutralized Pyongyang's nuclear threat.

Not only that, an analysis by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies also described a secret military base deep inside North Korea that could house missiles capable of reaching the United States. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also later announced that North Korea appeared to be expanding activities at its main nuclear facility.

A few days earlier, North Korean state media reported that leader Kim Jong-un had visited a testing site at the National Defense Institute of North Korea and witnessed the testing of a new high-tech weapon there. The information released at that time once again raised public doubts about the future of the process of realizing denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. After a series of such moves, North Korea has now unexpectedly made a concession by announcing that it will allow international inspectors to visit the important nuclear facility at Yongbyon, giving public opinion grounds to continue to doubt the country's goodwill.

Both hard and soft

In fact, North Korea's latest concession is considered to be part of a series of soft moves by the country in recent times. Last month, North Korea dismantled the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and partially destroyed the Tongchang-ri facility. Of course, on the other hand, as the public has witnessed, parallel to these goodwill steps are still a series of moves to demonstrate strength, putting pressure on the international community, especially the US and South Korea. As for the test of new technology weapons, according to observers, this is a message that "not accepting one-sided conditions" that Pyongyang wants to send to the US.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump are aiming for a second summit in early 2019. Photo: The Hill

And that the North Korean people can rest assured about the country's military strength. But besides that, this move also shows North Korea's impatience and insecurity when many months have passed since the June 12 summit, the US has not made any move to lift sanctions on Pyongyang.

Perhaps that is why some analysts believe that Pyongyang may have wanted US websites to collect information about secret nuclear facilities, thereby creating pressure in negotiations with Washington. However, this is considered a strategy of "applying pressure within allowable limits" by the North Korean leader. Because everyone realizes that North Korea under leader Kim Jong-un is putting the goal of economic development and improving people's lives above all. In addition, Mr. Kim Jong-un also pursues the goal of creating a friendly image, ready to open up to investment and cooperation with the international community.

That is the calculation, but the reality is that the deep gap of suspicion between the two sides has not been eliminated. While the US is still constantly concerned about North Korea's nuclear weapons, North Korea has never stopped worrying about a future of security and politics from the US, after North Korea transfers its nuclear arsenal. Although recently, the administration of US President Donald Trump has repeatedly defended North Korea, such as in the recent accusations of the country developing nuclear facilities. However, the US has so far firmly refused to lift any sanctions on Pyongyang.

Although a second US-North Korea summit is being actively promoted by all parties to take place in early 2019, perhaps President Donald Trump is still having to carefully prepare and calculate which "moves" are most beneficial for the US. Meanwhile, the difficult problem is probably being pushed towards North Korea. Because this country is assessed to need the US more, to be able to realize the socio-economic development strategy that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is cherishing!./.